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Indonesia has had contact with the Arab world for hundreds of years. This was even before the development of Islam in Indonesia. Most contact was with spice traders. The first Arab settlements in the archipelago may have started in the fifth century. These early communities took over much of the local culture. Some of them disappeared completely while others formed ethnic groups.[2]

Modern Arab Indonesians are descended from Hadramis, who came to Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period. The men often marriednative women.[3][4] They were classified as "foreign orientals" along with Chinese Indonesians. This class stopped them from going to certain schools and also restricted their travel. They were also only allowed to live in special Arab districts, called kampung Arab in Indonesian. These laws were removed in 1919.[5]

The community elites began to build economic power through trade and real estate investment. They bought large amounts of real estate in Batavia (modern-day Jakarta), Singapore and other parts of this area. Arab Indonesians did charity work, and built and protected their social capital. Eventually, some Arab Indonesians joined the Volksraad, the people's council of the Dutch East Indies.[6]

First generationimmigrants are called wulāytī or totok. They are a small minority of the Arab Indonesian population. The majority, muwallad (plural form: muwalladīn), were born in Indonesia and may be of mixed heritage.[10]

Arab Indonesians (second from right) had a higher proportion of Muslims than other ethnic groups.

Arab Indonesians are almost all Muslim. According to the 2000 census, 98.27 percent of Arab Indonesians are Muslim, compared to 88.22 percent of the whole population. Historically, most have lived in kauman, or the area around mosques, but this has changed in recent years.[12] The majority are Sunni, people who follow the Shafi'i school of Islamic law. The Shia are a growing minority.[13] Children are often sent to madrasahs.[14]

The Islam practiced by Arab Indonesians is more orthodox than the local, indigenous-influenced forms like abangan. Many Arab Indonesians try to convince local Muslims to follow a more orthodox form of Islam as well.[8]